Many households earn from more than one job or a side business, and lenders assess each source separately.
With more than one income, lenders assess each source on its own. A second job usually needs six to twelve months of history in that role; a side business is read as self-employed income, usually on tax returns; several part-time roles are counted individually.
Choosing a lender whose policy fits each source decides how much of the total is counted.
Part of the employment and income home loans guide.
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Several part-time positions can be assessed close to a full-time equivalent where the pattern is stable and evidenced, particularly within the same industry. What lenders look for is consistency across the roles and continuity over time, rather than a snapshot of a single busy month.
Two years of payslips across the roles does more for this file than any explanation.
A borrowing figure built on a second job assumes you will keep working the second job for as long as the loan runs. That is a genuine commitment, and it is worth deciding deliberately rather than by default.
If the second income is temporary, or exists to reach a particular purchase, the repayment should be one you could still meet if it stopped.
Four factors that decide how much of the total counts.
Usually only once there is a track record, commonly six to twelve months and sometimes longer, and the requirement differs between lenders. Where the history exists the income is frequently counted at a rate similar to your main employment.
Where the second job is recent, many lenders will exclude it entirely, which is often the difference on a file that is otherwise close.
They can be assessed close to it where the pattern is stable, evidenced and ideally within the same industry. What matters is consistency over time rather than the number of employers. Two years of payslips across the roles is the evidence that makes the case.
Discounted, typically to allow for vacancy and holding costs, with the discount rate varying by lender. It is genuine income and it counts, but it does not count at face value, and the discount is one of the settings that makes lenders differ so much on investor files.
The salary is assessed conventionally and the business brings self-employed assessment into play, which usually means tax returns and financials even where the business is small. Some lenders handle the combination comfortably; others make it harder than it needs to be. It is a placement question.
Only if you intend to keep it. Lenders generally will not count it until there is history anyway, so it is not a quick fix, and a loan sized around an income you plan to stop is a position worth avoiding. There are usually faster levers. What works.
Charles can tell you which lenders count each of your income streams, and how much of each.
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General information only, not credit or financial advice. Professional lending policies, eligible occupations and loan-to-value thresholds vary by lender and change over time. Eligibility is confirmed against current lender policy in an assessment; nothing on this page is a promise that any lender will approve any application.
